State witness Roberto Bernardo, former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) undersecretary, said on Thursday that he never had any dealings with former Speaker Martin Romualdez.
Bernardo said this in his testimony before the Sandiganbayan Third Division during the bail hearing of Romualdez for plunder over alleged kickbacks worth P7.44 billion.
Romualdez’s lawyer, Thea Daep, asked Bernardo if he had dealings with the Leyte lawmaker, and the witness responded: ‘There is nothing like that.’
He added that he mentioned Romualdez only once in his affidavit.
‘I remember I stated him in one of my affidavits when [I said] I met him on Mark Villar daughter’s birthday,’ he said.
Daep asked if he referred to Romualdez as a project proponent, and Bernardo said: ‘As far as I remember, no.’
Bernardo said, however, he mentioned in his affidavit former Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co, who was the chairperson of the powerful House Committee on Appropriations when Romualdez was speaker.
But Bernardo said he was not ‘personally aware’ of Co’s dealings with ex-Bulacan district engineer (DE) Henry Alcantara, another state witness.
In his testimony, Alcantara’s said he was delivering alleged kickbacks from contractors intended for Co.
Bernardo said he talked with Co over the phone when the latter asked him if Alcantara was ‘maayos kausap’ (easy to deal with).
Asked what he meant by this, Bernardo said: ‘He was professional, and I know as DE [district engineer] he can do his duties.’
Meanwhile, Bernardo said he has known Co since 1993, or back when the lawmaker was still a contractor.
Bernardo, who was appointed by Villar as DPWH’s undersecretary for operations in 2018, said he had been under the agency for around four decades.